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rachaeljessica
12-01-2010, 13:07
Hey guys...so i'm totally having hiking withdrawals. What I mean is after some time of not being outside I start missing it so much I get irritated and depressed. Has any of you experienced anything like this? I feel like in some way I NEED nature and crave it more everyday. This society is so pathetic and overrun with the holidays....i just want to get away from it all!! :eek:
So time to plan another trip. Winter backpacking in the Whites!!

Ladytrekker
12-01-2010, 13:12
Amen on over doing holidays. We decided last year no more gifts just a family evening together to have dinner and just enjoy each other. I had so much freedom last Christmas that we are going to continue with the no gift holidays. I will be hiking and kayaking in Florida on the next several weekends. Gettin outdoors is what it is all about and is Florida's only time to hike and backpack.

sly dog
12-01-2010, 13:13
I gotta head out too myself, not that far north but gotta get out! Work is drivin me nutz. 1st week after hunting season i outa here:)

So Far
12-01-2010, 13:14
I miss the trail EVERDAY! It's hard not being oputside with nowhere to be. I also miss the most amazing people I met. I guess it will go away with time...OR save up and get out there again.

tawa
12-01-2010, 13:21
I agree---I have a tough time with the holiday season. All the expectations, commercialization etc For some reason it all pushes my buttons and generally is not real good for my physical--mental state.
Therefore, tomorrow I'm going hiking all day up at Hoosier National Forest and recharge my battery and continue to workout and prepare for 2011 thru hike.
Hang in there and stay active.

thattallguy44
12-01-2010, 13:35
yeah i know what u mean. living on cape its hard spending the money on gas(my car doesnt have the best gas mileage) to get up to the whites or over to vt. Also with working as much as possible to fund my AT hike next year, day hikes are the only thing I have now haha. the idea keeps me going.

Reading up on AT guide books and stories written about the trail does keep my spirits up :)

Ladytrekker
12-01-2010, 13:41
yeah i know what u mean. living on cape its hard spending the money on gas(my car doesnt have the best gas mileage) to get up to the whites or over to vt. Also with working as much as possible to fund my AT hike next year, day hikes are the only thing I have now haha. the idea keeps me going.

Reading up on AT guide books and stories written about the trail does keep my spirits up :)

If you get a chance read "A Season on the Appalachian Trail" by Lynn Setzer

It follows a group of thru hikers and then interviews them 5 years later really good book.

http://www.menasharidge.com/product.php?productid=16197

Luddite
12-01-2010, 13:42
At least you have winter backpacking in the Whites to think about. I'm still months away from my thru hike, bored to death in Florida. I traveled for two years non stop and then finally stopped about 8 months ago and have felt empty inside everyday. I'm hoping the AT will cure my cynicism.

thattallguy44
12-01-2010, 13:44
alright nice thanks for the suggestion. I love when books actually get into the mental process a person goes through on a thru hike not just how the weather and the how their gear worked. Reading about how different people felt on the trail is more appealing to me.

thattallguy44
12-01-2010, 13:45
Luddite, cant u swim down there right now? haha. id be loving that if i lived there.

Luddite
12-01-2010, 14:24
Luddite, cant u swim down there right now? haha. id be loving that if i lived there.

I hate the beach.

Flippy
12-01-2010, 14:30
I get this way around this time of year every year, not sure if it's the Holidays, for me I think it's Springer Fever. I love the AT. Started micro-planning in 2003, then thought, "What am I doing? I have to plan and prepare projects for living" So I ditched the plan, and just let the adventure onfold. That is the freedom I miss. The people on the trail are so genuine and real - I wish I could find people like that nearby when I'm not hiking.

I've done a thru-hike or long distance hike every year since 2004 (except 2009) and even though I know I'm going to hike next year, I can't wait until the next June when I'm back on the CDT. It consumes me, and try to stay distracted. In 2006, I planned on going back on the PCT in late April. In the mean time I decided to hike on the AT for a week of so in late March. It was June before I realized I was still hiking the AT, and in Duncannon of all places.

That said, I going to hike the LoneStar Trail this month (only ~130 miles) and may hike a little of the AT again this year before I venture back to the CDT.

Luddite...Have you thought of hiking the Florida Trail in the meantime? If you get too distracted there's a route that hooks up to the AT.

Carbo
12-01-2010, 16:08
If you get a chance read "A Season on the Appalachian Trail" by Lynn Setzer

It follows a group of thru hikers and then interviews them 5 years later really good book.

http://www.menasharidge.com/product.php?productid=16197

Just ordered a copy! Thanks for the info.

Blissful
12-01-2010, 16:18
Get out and get some sun. Sunlight will help with your mood. Better yet,make it a good run in the sun.

Spirit Walker
12-02-2010, 00:11
I definitely need to spend time outdoors for my mental and physical health. I get seriously depressed if I can't get out. We used to go hiking every weekend, and did long backpacking trips often. I have been lucky enough to be able to do several long distance hikes and some other major trips. Unfortunately, my husband's knee and foot problems are keeping us from doing any real hiking. That situation has been bad for the past two years and isn't likely to get better any time in the foreseeable future. It's royally depressing. In the past, planning another trip or rereading my journals of past adventures has helped me through the periods between hikes. Doesn't work for me now because I feel so hopeless about the future. At least we are able to do short walks every day. Our dog makes sure we get out, regardless of the weather. That is the only thing keeping me halfway sane.

Dogwood
12-02-2010, 00:18
If nature is what you need and crave then go after it! On nice weather/warmer days get outside and go for a walk. Don't lament winter! Either work with it where you live or move to someplace warmer. I did!

Even if there is snow on the ground, or it's snowing, get outside to clear your head and decompress, if that's what does it for you! Visiting a zoo, arboretum(botanical garden), river walk, and even walking through safe parts of a large city at night when there's little hustle and bustle may help. You just may realize a new atmosphere can, and often does, exist in all those places during winter, leading to a greater apprecation of them!

Don't be afraid to mix things up either! Two yrs ago when my family pressured me to join them at Walt Disney World in FL for Thanksgiving, which I thought would be a tense loud whirlwind affair gorging on mass consumables, I instead opted to stay in Charleston SC. Bought some food at Whole Foods, grabbed my sleeping bag and pack, and headed out to the beach for the night, viewing the stars, and falling into a deep peaceful sleep to the rhythmic sounds of the waves! I never woke up so relaxed on the morning after a Thangksgiving. It kind of brought new meaning/perspective to me about what Thanksgiving can be about!

DapperD
12-02-2010, 00:45
Hey guys...so i'm totally having hiking withdrawals. What I mean is after some time of not being outside I start missing it so much I get irritated and depressed. Has any of you experienced anything like this? I feel like in some way I NEED nature and crave it more everyday. This society is so pathetic and overrun with the holidays....i just want to get away from it all!! :eek:
So time to plan another trip. Winter backpacking in the Whites!!Yes, absolutely. We all need to strive to be active so as to be able to remain healthy. And getting outside to do physical things such as hiking is a great way to stay healthy and keep in shape. Also being able to enjoy the outdoors is another fantastic benefit. I know personally that if I slack off from physical activity for too long, besides feeling bad, I begin to become restless and irritable. I have basically ingrained physical activity into my lifestyle, and when I put it off (usually do to necessity for one reason or another) I begin to actually get depressed. Physical activity is a great mood enhancer as well as providing all the other health benefits that are associated with living an active lifestyle. As far as the holidays are concerned, especially for those of us with families and the benefit of having jobs in this horrible economy I don't think that they are that depressing personnally. I think one can aqcuire with time the ability to learn to get past all the commercialized hoopla and learn to enjoy the holidays without having to go for broke by buying and giving gifts, etc...Enjoying the company of those who we are closest with and learning to get along peacefully and joyously in of of itself can in my opinion be rewarding enough.

cbeaves
12-02-2010, 02:17
Finished my 2010 thru and I'm still trying to adjust. I think the more you hike, the less you can tolerate "the real world." I'm struggling with commercials and advertising right now. I can't stand it so much that I've abandoned TV altogether. Probably for the best anyway! I won't have to listen to those pesky holiday commercials...

Mags
12-02-2010, 10:26
The Berkshires are probably nice for some relatively easy winter backpacking.

Get a 0F bag if you have can, add some extra layers, maybe grab some snowshoes and explore the wonders of winter.

Every season is an outdoors season. If you miss the outdoors....then go outdoors. :sun

Ladytrekker
12-02-2010, 10:30
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/atlanta-man-disappears-in-763174.html?cxtype=rss_news

I think that this article fits right in with hiking withdrawals.

sbhikes
12-02-2010, 11:10
Finished my 2010 thru and I'm still trying to adjust. I think the more you hike, the less you can tolerate "the real world." I'm struggling with commercials and advertising right now. I can't stand it so much that I've abandoned TV altogether. Probably for the best anyway! I won't have to listen to those pesky holiday commercials...

I totally had that feeling too. I still feel the same way but not as acutely.


Unfortunately, my husband's knee and foot problems are keeping us from doing any real hiking.

I know how this feels! Mine sprained his ankle on the PCT and so we couldn't do anything for a long time after that. Then a couple weekends ago he collapsed and called 911 on the trail with chest pains. He's got some kind of weird asthma or something. The future looks so bleak, an endless series of days going to work followed by weekends of "taking it easy."

Please don't say "quit your job if you hate it so much" because that's not the issue. The issue is I can't stand doing the same thing day after day after day with no end in sight, doing all this in this artificial world where everything we are supposed to care about is meaningless to me.

rachaeljessica
12-02-2010, 11:58
Finished my 2010 thru and I'm still trying to adjust. I think the more you hike, the less you can tolerate "the real world." I'm struggling with commercials and advertising right now. I can't stand it so much that I've abandoned TV altogether. Probably for the best anyway! I won't have to listen to those pesky holiday commercials...
cbeaves (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/member.php?u=24379) ,

My thoughts exactly! I know what you mean. And I have not had tv in over 2 years!

Mags
12-02-2010, 12:38
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/atlanta-man-disappears-in-763174.html?cxtype=rss_news

I think that this article fits right in with hiking withdrawals.


A guy in his mid-late 30s, works in IT, is an avid outdoors person and takes off by himself into the CO Rockies.... :-?

Celeste
12-02-2010, 20:01
Oh man, I am serously not a good person when I haven't hiked enough or been in the forests enough. I lvoe a good cultured city, but they wear me down. I just moved into a downtown area for the past 2 years after living on a dead end road in some nice woods, and it's really bugging me in a bad way...

Del Q
12-02-2010, 22:44
Feelin your pain!

Arthroscopy surgery 6 weeks ago, have been pushing HARD to get back onto the AT next Saturday..........would not be the most "responsible" thing to go, will decide this Sunday...........

Whites next year...........South in the Spring/Winter........North Summer & Fall

Closing in on "it"

Bucherm
12-03-2010, 04:44
A guy in his mid-late 30s, works in IT, is an avid outdoors person and takes off by himself into the CO Rockies.... :-?

Just had a sensation of someone walking over your grave? :D